Girls' arrest justified, says Sena leader

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Last Updated: Tue, Nov 20, 2012 06:35 hrs

Mumbai: Nine persons have been arrested for vandalizing a hospital of the uncle of a girl, who, along with a friend, was arrested on Monday for making anti-Bal Thackeray comments on social networking site Facebook, said reports.

Alleged Shiv Sainiks vandalized the hospital after they saw the online post.

The arrests sparked an online outrage.

However, Shiv Sena's Thane rural chief defended the police action of arresting two girls. He has also said any comments against Bal Thackeray will not be tolerated.

"Balasaheb Thackeray is our God. We will not tolerate any offensive comments against him. No Shiv Sainik and no Marathi Manoos will remain silent. The police knows who was behind the Facebook comment. The arrest is justified," CNN IBN quoted Shiv Sena's Thane rural district head Prabhakar Raul as saying.

The two girls were arrested in Maharashtra's Thane district over a Facebook comment that questioned the shutdown in Mumbai for Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's funeral, police said on Monday.

The girls were later granted bail.

Shaheen Dhada, was arrested on Sunday for posting a comment against the shutdown.

Her post said instead of shutting down Mumbai for Thackeray's death, "We should remember Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev – two martyrs of India’s independence.” The police had arrested another girl for 'liking' the post.

The arrests were made under Section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The girls were arrested after a Shiv Sena leader filed a complaint against them.

Shiv Sena workers vandalised an orthopaedic hospital of Dhada's uncle on Sunday after she posted the comment.

Thackeray died on Saturday after battling ailments for days, ending an era in Maharashtra and national politics in course of which many opposed to his functioning struggling to come to terms with his brand of firebrand nationalism. He was 86.